Zing, Zeal, Zone
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and sixty-eight: ABCs #26 The rest of the club, in two groups of five, waits on their cue to enter the Sectionals stage.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh cycle. Now here's cycle 8!_

_Walking through a bookstore back in december, I saw the series of books by Sue Grafton that go "A is for...," "B is for...," etc, and I got the idea for this set. It will spread over the end of cycle 6, and carry through cycles 7 and 8, to be posted on alternating days. [And by the time we reach the end, Glee will be a week away!!] What I did is I found three words for each letter that would have some significance to Glee, and I built a plot around it. You with me? Okay, here we go..._  
_**26 of 26:** Z is for..._

* * *

**"Zing, Zeal, Zone"  
Finn, Mercedes, Mike, Quinn, Tina  
Puck, Brittany, Matt, Santana, Kurt**

After Rachel had moved out into the aisle, and the stage, the five behind her had each taken a step forward, lined up in wait. They didn't speak at first, but then they had to know…

"How's it going out there?" Tina asked, at the very back of the line. Finn peeked through the curtain. He smiled.

"Rachel being Rachel," he told them. She's doing great."

"How's the crowd?" Quinn asked. Finn pulled back the curtain a bit, letting the other four peek around him.

All they had to do was to wait on a cue… as difficult as waiting might have been. After everything that had happened, and the little bit of preparation they'd been able to put into it, every last one of them was itching to get up there and show what they had, and how nothing would get them to back down. As such, every one of them was pumped up, willing patience into themselves. They were as ready as they could be.

At the back of the row, both Quinn and Tina were dancing in place, laughing to themselves. Standing in front of them, Mike turned, hearing them. He laughed.

"Excited?" he guessed sarcastically. The girls just smirked, standing up straight.

"Turn around, Other Asian," Quinn drawled, spinning her finger in the air with her smirk. Tina laughed, and Mike reached dramatically to his heart with both hands, 'stumbling' and mouthing an 'ouch' before turning back into position.

In front of them, Mercedes looked back for a second before stepping up to Finn. "Hey," she tapped his shoulder and he let go of the curtain, turning to face her. "How are you doing? Are you okay?" His eyes wandered to the back of the line for a second, then looked back to Mercedes, quiet.

"Yes… no… both," he shrugged.

"Well, hey, we've got your back," she assured him with a nod. He smiled. "And, I'm glad you're here," she spoke honestly. "You're good, white boy," she recalled their first group rehearsal, the six of them. He chuckled at that.

Out beyond the curtain, they heard a 'bang!' So that meant they were soon making their entrance.

At the curtain on the other side of the rows of seats, the other five – Artie was already in the wings – were having their own bit of anxious anticipation. Puck was up front and, when he heard Rachel start to sing, he peeked through.

They had all been on the other side, the three of them. As anxious as he was for this, part of him was still with everything that had happened, secrets revealed, rejections…

He was pulled out of those thoughts when he felt something whip at the back of his head. He startled, turned to see what was going on and realized the 'something' was Brittany's hair. "What are you…"

Brittany and Santana, surrounding Matt in the row, had been doing much like the girls in the other row, dancing around. Matt just tried not to get in the way. At the very back, Kurt tilted sideways to look at Puck, up front, when he spoke. He just shrugged at him.

Santana caught a glimpse of Puck meeting Kurt's look and turned to look at the boy behind her. He couldn't help himself, he had to smirk.

"So you like Glee Club," he nodded slowly. She gave him a look, though it wasn't as menacing as he knew her to be able to produce. "Well, good," he told her, and looking back ahead, she smiled. Brittany, still facing back, saw the smile and returned it, confused. Santana chuckled, nodding her head so she would turn to face forward. It was timely, as they heard Rachel's 'bang!' from out front.

Finn in one row, and Puck in the other, each prepared to throw the curtains open for each of their rows to file out.

"Get ready," Finn told Mercedes, Mike, Quinn, and Tina.

"Here we go," Puck told Brittany, Matt, Santana, and Kurt.

Each little group straightened up, feeling like they'd bust if they didn't get to go out now.

"Good luck!" Brittany told her group.

"Knock 'em dead!" Mike told his.

And they were off.

THE END


End file.
